Volunteer — Hockley Hustle

Join the team

The Hustle runs on volunteers. Help us out for a few hours on the day and you get a free festival wristband, an exclusive HH t-shirt and our eternal gratitude. All profits from the Hockley Hustle go to local charities.

No experience needed. You'll be briefed before your shift and supported throughout, and you'll never be asked to do security or first aid. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy the festival.

Two Hockley Hustle volunteers with Young Hustlers leaflets

The roles:

K.A.R.E.N.S
Patrol the festival, answer questions and help attendees, keeping an eye out for anything that needs reporting. Comes with its own detailed briefing.
Wristband checking
Check wristbands at venues, manage capacity and point anyone without one to the Wristband Exchange, while supporting charity donations and feedback.
Wristband Exchange
Sell and exchange wristbands and help festival-goers with wristband queries. Comes with its own detailed briefing.
Festival set-up
Help prepare and decorate the Hockley area before the festival. Walking, bending, lifting, and potentially getting muddy or wet.
Parade volunteers
Walk alongside the parades, help keep the public safely back and support the parade team. Enjoy a dance while you parade!
Silent disco
Hand out and collect headphones, take deposits, help with crowd control and set-up and pack-down. You get to enjoy the disco too.
Movers and take-down
Dismantle decorations, move equipment and pack everything away after the festival. Hands-on and physical.

Before you sign up

The basics

Sunday 25 October 2026, 9am to 10pm.
Locations: Hockley and the Lace Market.
Shifts last 3 hours, between 9am and 10pm. The 9am shifts are set-up and decorations only. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy the festival.
You need to be 16 or over. Not 16 yet? We need a signed consent form from a legal guardian.
What you get: a free festival wristband, an exclusive Hockley Hustle t-shirt and our eternal gratitude. We're happy to provide work references afterwards too.

After you sign up

You'll get a confirmation email within 5 days. Nothing arrived? Check spam for hockleyhustlevolunteer@gmail.com.
Your allocated venue and festival briefing land up to 7 days before the festival.
Online briefing and Q&A sessions are on offer ahead of the day. Say yes on the form.
Circumstances change? Please tell us. A no-show with no warning leaves the festival without cover.

On the day

Volunteer shifts run from 9am. Doors to the public from 11am.
First aider: Millie Poucher. Report any accident or emergency to her immediately.
Your Volunteer Manager is Carolina Rodrigues. She'll sort your briefing and your questions on the day.

Getting here

Bike: racks around Hockley and the Lace Market.
Bus: most city routes stop within a few minutes' walk of Hockley.
Tram: Lace Market stop is right on the doorstep.

Parking

Nearest car parks: NCP Nottingham Lace Market (Fletcher Gate) and Broadmarsh.
Blue badge: on-street bays around the Lace Market.

Health & Safety brief

As a Hockley Hustle volunteer you'll be allocated a set shift in advance of up to 3 hours to:

Provide information and assistance with general crowd safety throughout the event.
Monitor capacity levels and help clear the site of public in a systematic way, supported by venue and festival staff.
Ensure staff areas are maintained throughout the event.
Immediately inform Millie Poucher (First Aider) of any accident or emergency.

You'll never be asked to give first aid, act as security or manage teams. Questions? Write to hockleyhustlevolunteer@gmail.com.

EDI statement

The Hustle Collective is committed to inclusion and diversity in everything we do. Our team members, partnering organisations and volunteers should aim to have great ideas, drive new plans forwards and help elevate The Hustle Collective's ethos within the community.

Ensuring that we are always recruiting, retaining and promoting a diverse mix of colleagues who are representative of the diversity in our local communities gives us a great opportunity to have access to a broad range of ideas. At The Hustle Collective, we take inclusion and diversity seriously. We know that getting this right is critical for us to align our values: dynamic, courageous, compassionate and inclusive.

We are always trying to improve our way of working to be more inclusive and equal. Springing from our fundamental principles, this means that our organisation and the support we give to people should be impartial, neutral and universal.

As a Hustle volunteer, you should uphold the fundamental principles and these should be reflected in your time given to the role.

Fancy it?